{ } a. [ OE. seer, AS. seár (assumed) fr. seárian to wither; akin to D. zoor dry, LG. soor, OHG. sorēn to wither, Gr. a"y`ein to parch, to dry, Skr. çush (for sush) to dry, to wither, Zend hush to dry. √152. Cf. Austere, Sorrel, a.] Dry; withered; no longer green; -- applied to leaves. Milton. [1913 Webster]

I have lived long enough; my way of life
Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf. Shak. [1913 Webster]

a. Dry; withered. Same as Sear. [ 1913 Webster ]

But with its sound it shook the sails
That were so thin and sere. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. serre. ] Claw; talon. [ Obs. ] Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. Cf. Serenade, n. ] (Meteorol.) A mist, or very fine rain, which sometimes falls from a clear sky a few moments after sunset. Tyndall. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. sérénade, It. serenata, probably fr. L. serenus serene (cf. Serene), misunderstood as a derivative fr. L. serus late. Cf. Soirée. ] (Mus.) (a) Music sung or performed in the open air at nights; -- usually applied to musical entertainments given in the open air at night, especially by gentlemen, in a spirit of gallantry, under the windows of ladies. (b) A piece of music suitable to be performed at such times. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Serenaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Serenading. ] To entertain with a serenade. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To perform a serenade. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who serenades. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ It. serenata. See Serenade. ] (Mus.) A piece of vocal music, especially one on an amoreus subject; a serenade. [ 1913 Webster ]

Or serenate, which the starved lover sings
To his pround fair. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The name serenata was given by Italian composers in the time of Handel, and by Handel himself, to a cantata of a pastoreal of dramatic character, to a secular ode, etc.; also by Mozart and others to an orchectral composition, in several movements, midway between the suite of an earlier period and the modern symphony. Grove. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Serenity; clearness; calmness. [ Poetic. ] “The serene of heaven.” Southey. [ 1913 Webster ]

To their master is denied
To share their sweet serene. Young. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. [ F. serein evening dew or damp. See Serein. ] Evening air; night chill. [ Obs. ] “Some serene blast me.” B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]